Jan 5, 2009

Business - Daiichi to post $3 bln in losses on Ranbaxy - paper

Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd is expected to book more than 300 billion yen ($3.3 billion) in losses stemming from the fall in the stock price of its Indian unit Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday.

The large valuation losses would likely force Daiichi Sankyo to post a net loss of about 200 billion yen, its first-ever net loss, for the year ending in March, the Nikkei said.

The company bought Ranbaxy in November for about 490 billion yen, and the sharp fall in Indian drugmaker's share price since then is likely to result in a writedown of about 300 billion yen on Daiichi Sankyo's earnings for the nine months ended in December, the paper said.

The firm, which has forecast a net profit of 65 billion yen for the current business year, is expected to announce the valuation loss this week, the Nikkei said.